Radial-draft gear.



3 woe/micro c. F. MEYER. RADIAL DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-30,19)-

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

. cm, a. M w lo d 611M140 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

CHESTER F. MEYER, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

RADIAL-DRAFT GEAR.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented l ov. 26, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER F. MEYER, a.

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Radial- Draft Gears, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section of a radial draft gear embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan thereof, partly in section; Fig. 3 is a section on lines IIIIII of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a section on lines IV-IV of Fig. 2.

My invention relates to radial draft gears, and consists in an arrangement of the draft member which permits the coupler to buff directly against the shock absorbing mechanism and avoids throwing the normal buffing strains on the parts of the draft member, and in which the excessive bufling strains are transmitted from the coupler to the pivot pin by a member held against longitudinal movement, whereby the shock absorbing mechanism and other parts are protected against excessive strains. My invention also consists in the construction and cooperation of the various parts which I shall hereinafter describe andclaim.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates the coupler, B the outer casing of the draft member, C the inner casing or yoke, D the shock absorbing mechanism, and E the pivot pin.

The outer casing B is pivoted to the car by the pin E, which seats in apertures 2 of the outer casing, and is held thereby against longitudinal movement. At its forward end the casing B is provided with shoulders 3 against which the coupler head may strike at the end of the buffing movement, just as the shock absorbing mechanism D goes solid. The inner casing or yoke C consists in the upper and lower horizontal arms 4, connected at their rear ends by the vertical portion 5, which has a socket 6 bearing against the pivot pin casting 7. Projecting forwardly and connecting the forward ends of the yoke arms 4 is a boxlike extension 8, having horizontally-disposed key slots 9. The forward extension 8 extends as far forward as the forward end of the outer casing B, and its inside vertical height is sufiicient to allow the insertion of a coupler butt. The

outer casing B has elongated apertures 10,

which are of greater extent than the key slots 9 of the inner casing C and permit access thereto, and through which the keys 11 may be inserted into the key slots 9. When the coupler butt has been inserted, the keys 11 bear against the forward faces of the coupler liner block, and thereby transmit pulling stresses from the coupler A to the yoke C.

In assembling the gear, the yoke or inner casing C, with the shock absorbing mechanism D in place between the arms 4, is inserted into the rear open end of the casing B, and slid forwardly until the key slots 9 are opposite the apertures 10 in the outer casing B, and the forward end of the shock absorbing mechanism is brought into bearing with the -intermediate shoulders 12 in the outer casing B. The coupler shank may then be inserted into the forward end of the extension 8 of the inner casing, and slid rearwardly until its butt strikes the shock absorbing mechanism D. The keys 11 are then passed through the key slots 9 of the inner casing and bear against the forward faces of the coupler butt, so as to transmit the pulling strain from the coupler to the yoke or inner casing. The keys 11 may be held in place by the cotters 13 passing through them and through the walls of the yoke extension 8.

Under draft the coupler pulls the yoke C forwardly, and the vertical portion 5 of the yoke pulls forwardly against the shock absorbing mechanism, which-is held against forward movement .b the shoulders 12 on the outer casing, so t at the draft is transmitted from the shock absorbing mechanism through the shoulders 12 to the outer casing B, and by the outer casing B to the pivot pin E, and from thence to the car.

Under bufi' the cou ler shank moves rear-- wardly within the yo e extension 8, and as it bears directly upon the forward end of the shock absorbing'mechanism D, it will compress the shock absorbing mechanism, which is held against rearward movement at its rear end by its bearing on the vertical member 5, which in its socket portion 6 bears against the pivot casting 7 attached to the car.

It will thus be seen that the outer casing B is held against longitudinal movement during bufiing and draft, while the inner casing C, which is held against such movement under buff, is free to move forwardly under draft, and that the coupler, although it moves forwardly under draft with the casing C, moves rearwardly independently of both casings and bears directly on the shock absorbing mechanism under buff until the gear goes solid, when the excessive buffing strains may be taken up'by the casings B and C and thereby transmitted directly to the car. If preferred, however, the casings B and C may be relieved of this excessive bufi, this stress being entirely carried by the shock absorbing mechanism.

The terms and expressions Which l have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no inten tion, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivalents for the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications in the construction shown and described are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

mes es What I claim is:

1. In aradial draft gear, a casing pivoted to a car for movement in a lateral direction but held against longitudinal movement, a second casing contained in the first casing and having a telescoping engagement with the first-named casing, said second-named casing containing a shock absorbing mechanism, and a coupler seated in the secondnamed casing bearing directly against the shock absorbing mechanism, said coupler having a movement independently of the second-named casing during bufling and being adapted for movement with said second named casing during pulling.

2. ln a radial draft gear, a casing pivoted to a car, and a yoke contained in said casing and containing a shock absorbing mechanism and the shank of a car coupler, said yoke having at its rear end a socket adapted during buffing to bear upon a convex bearing on the car and having in its forward portion a pulling engagement with the coupler.

CHESTER 1F. MEYER. 

